Education/Research – Schneider Electric Bloghttps://blog.schneider-electric.com
Global Specialist in Energy Management and Automation
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 18:27:00 +0000 en-US
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1 Embracing, what is differenthttps://blog.schneider-electric.com/education-research/2019/03/04/embracing-what-is-different/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/education-research/2019/03/04/embracing-what-is-different/#commentsMon, 04 Mar 2019 09:57:01 +0000https://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=55255A few months back I was part of a team outing to Goa (gorgeous beach state of India) and it was the best trip I ever had with colleagues. Quite... Read more »

]]>A few months back I was part of a team outing to Goa (gorgeous beach state of India) and it was the best trip I ever had with colleagues. Quite simply fantabulous. What made it so fun? I guess because everyone I cared for, loved, was part of the troop. It didn’t matter where we went, because wherever we went, it was a party. It didn’t matter what we did, because when we were together – it was a house on fire. We planned the whole outing together, what location, what budget, what kind of entertainment would suit everybody. Every concern was heard and accommodated, every need was considered (This was no mean feat considering there were a dozen of us). When I sit back and reflect, the vivid memory of how relaxed the whole experience was becomes even more significant. This trip to me was an excellent example of the joy of including others.

I am conscious of the fact as I relate this example is that inclusion comes easy when you truly like, relate and connect with others. What is more difficult to achieve is ‘embracing different’.

Another story I would like to share is around the circumstances preceding my joining Schneider (which weren’t the happiest). My former organization got acquired and for several reasons I chose to leave. For those of us who have ever been part of such corporate additions / subtractions, the experience can be traumatic. While I still sometimes grapple to come to terms with my sense of loss, I am also very grateful for this experience. It gave me the opportunity to watch from very close quarters the impact of this phenomena called ‘Us vs. They’. The ‘Us vs. They’ phenomena is all about mental partitions and it inhibits us from appreciating context (very detrimental during change management). For example, in a M&A scenario there can be many legacy business decisions that did not work or show adequate business results. When one uses the lens of ‘Us vs. They’, the tendency is to write things off by saying – ‘They made bad decisions, leave it to Us to fix things’. While the intent may be positive, it doesn’t create a neutral inclusive space to explore casual agents, engage and truly address underlying issues.

I have now come to believe that every adversity gifts you a pair of lens. A lens to be able to view and appreciate things differently and I got to use this lens many times on becoming part of Schneider.

Schneider is one organization which has grown manifolds inorganically. I was lucky to be a distant observer one time in watching the organization make a bid to acquire another entity. What I am deeply grateful to my colleagues here is that through their conduct they showed me how things can be done differently – in a more conscious, open, sensitive manner. I remember asking one of my dearest colleague and friend here who was working on the integration project – So what’s been your biggest learning thus far?

SE Great People

He said, ‘You know we are in process of connecting with different colleagues across the globe who have worked in other integration projects to learn from them what we can do better’. This is one of the multiple small ways in which inclusion is practiced in Schneider. For me just the intent of including another’s learning, perspective, viewpoint in how we want to conduct ourselves was a liberating, refreshing thought.

The easy answer would be, it is after all one of our core values (Embrace Different) but what makes us different is what we do, to embrace different.

My top picks are – We are willing to Listen deeply, We are willing to Accept and We are willing to Share.

Inclusion is not just about including diverse sets of people in workforce. Hiring different kinds of talent is just the first step. The intent behind inclusion is to build an ecosystem which nurtures different ideas to germinate, experiment and bring our creative best out. Inclusion is central to Innovation. As an innovation centered organization, we recognize that the price of exclusion is too high. (https://www.unfe.org/the-price-of-exclusion/). We believe in nurturing inclusiveness. Our philosophy of being inclusive is not just part of the organization’s language and behavior, it is what makes us Schneider.

]]>Technology. It’s ever-changing. Fast-paced. Complex. How can any company or organization, no matter which industry or market, keep up? The answer lies in flexible, adaptable, and agile data center physical infrastructure and real-time management software.

Responsible for the day-to-day operations of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center’s 7,500 square foot data center, David Plamondon, Data Center Operations Architect, understands the impact of changing technology firsthand. The biggest challenges are daily technology changes and having to support the latest and greatest equipment while staying within the original data center design specifications. “Our previous IT infrastructure monitoring either did not exist or was spread across three departments that were all using different tools, he notes.

In search of big picture visibility

“You can’t properly run a data center unless you have a complete picture of what is going on at any one time in either the facilities or IT side of the equation. Having one solution that can combine infrastructure and IT management, as opposed to having multiple individual solutions, was a no-brainer. We also were looking for a useable solution for our inventory management needs. We needed a centralized solution that provided a ‘big picture’ view,” explains Plamondon.

Preparing for the future

“Energy efficiency will always be a driving factor in IT. One of our goals is to operate as efficiently as possible while delivering maximum uptime and reliability. We are always looking for opportunities to increase efficiency without negatively affecting performance,” adds Plamondon. “Many companies talk about improving efficiency, but if you can’t measure it, where is the value?”

UMass Medical Center contacted Schneider Electric to see if their products and services could meet the big challenge they had and prepare their data center management for the future.

In addition to improving data center operations, part of their solution would be to bring all power/cooling monitoring needs under one central dashboard. Schneider recommended EcoStruxure IT Software, which offers real-time visibility into their historical and current data center operating environment. “We were already using full APC by Schneider Electric, so taking the next step and going to a Schneider Electric software solution made a lot of sense,” noted Plamondon.

“We have been able to reduce our IT energy load by 5 percent”

A flexible, adaptable and agile solution

“The Schneider Electric solution has had a great impact on our facilities, finance, and IT – providing real-time monitoring and historical data. Their finance department has gained the ability to charge customers for actual power usage and IT gained an infrastructure management and planning solution,” explains Plamondon. “In the past, it was spreadsheets and manual logs! Now, every day I just look at my console, which allows me to gauge overall operating conditions.” EcoStruxure IT Software resolves immediate needs for real-time monitoring, billing and inventory management as well as long-term progress.

“So far, as part of our data center optimization project, we have been able to reduce our IT energy load by 5 percent. That is a real number that we can show on paper,” Plamondon notes. By closing gaps between IT and facilities, gaps in documentation related to physical floor space and the location of IT equipment such as servers, storage, and network devices, EcoStruxure IT Software has helped UMass Medical Center keep up – and even anticipate – ever-changing technology requirements.

]]>https://blog.schneider-electric.com/datacenter/data-center-architecture/data-center-operations/2019/01/22/umass-medical-center-ecostruxure-it-software/feed/0Schneider Electric Supports Sustainability Efforts with Performance and Energy Savings for Marshall County School Districthttps://blog.schneider-electric.com/building-management/2019/01/04/schneider-electric-sustainability-efforts-performance-energy-savings-marshall-county-school-district/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/building-management/2019/01/04/schneider-electric-sustainability-efforts-performance-energy-savings-marshall-county-school-district/#respondFri, 04 Jan 2019 12:19:51 +0000https://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=53696Marshall County occupies 710 square miles on Mississippi’s northern border, just across from Tennessee. Founded in 1836, this primarily agricultural area is home to just over 37,000 residents. Recently the... Read more »

]]>Marshall County occupies 710 square miles on Mississippi’s northern border, just across from Tennessee. Founded in 1836, this primarily agricultural area is home to just over 37,000 residents. Recently the county built a new industrial park. As a result, the school district anticipates growth as people and businesses move into the area and more students enroll in the district’s seven schools. Current student enrollment in grades K – 12 is 3,326.

A district-wide upgrade

Before planning for the future, though, the district knew it would have to address deferred maintenance projects at its existing school facilities. Schneider Electric met with district officials to discuss the benefits of an energy savings performance contract, a turnkey solution that incorporates design, construction, commissioning, and performance measurement into a single, guaranteed fixed price. Schneider Electric guarantees the amount of savings and agrees to pay the difference in the event the school district does not realize that amount.

With its strong track record of sustainability and energy saving projects in K – 12 schools across the country, Schneider Electric made an ideal partner to help the district address its deferred maintenance issues. More important, the energy savings will pay for upgrading facilities district-wide and allow the school district to achieve its vision for a better learning environment without compromising its financial well-being. At the same time, it will enable the school district to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability efforts to students, staff, and residents alike.

Building automation and operational efficiency

District officials signed a performance contract with Schneider Electric near the close of the 2014 – 2015 school year, and Schneider Electric got right to work.

Schneider Electric also installed a building automation system (BAS) in each school to increase operational efficiency. For instance, flexible scheduling features enable the district to automatically modify operations for weekends, holidays, and vacation periods. An override capability also provides flexibility to turn the power on or off in designated areas without having to power up an entire facility. Ultimately, these capabilities extend equipment service life.

A powerful end-to-end solution

HVAC systems at several schools had reached their end-of-service-life (some were 30+ years old). Schneider Electric replaced several systems in critical condition and gave the district a list of priorities to address the others as additional funds became available. New low-gallon flush commodes and low-flow fixtures (e.g., showerheads and faucets) were installed to conserve the district’s water resources.

Marshall County school district expects to reduce its energy consumption by 27 percent to achieve annual savings of $147,571

Implementation of IT power management controls help save energy by allowing equipment (e.g., PCs, smart boards, anything with an IP address) to hibernate or “go to sleep” when not in use. The district also installed Schneider Electric’s Resource Advisor. This software allows employees, students, and any interested party to simply click on a dashboard to see how a specific facility is using energy and water resources.

Sustainable state-of-the-art improvements

By partnering with Schneider Electric, the Marshall County school district expects to reduce its energy consumption by 27 percent to achieve annual savings of $147,571. The district will use its energy savings to pay for all improvements — without having to raise taxes. With savings in excess of $4 million over the life of the contract, the community will benefit from state-of-the-art improvements with zero strain on the district’s operating budget.

Learn more about the Marshall County school district success story by reading the full case study here

]]>https://blog.schneider-electric.com/building-management/2019/01/04/schneider-electric-sustainability-efforts-performance-energy-savings-marshall-county-school-district/feed/0Digital Transformation to Hit the Energy Wallhttps://blog.schneider-electric.com/it-management/2018/04/17/digital-transformation-to-hit-the-energy-wall/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/it-management/2018/04/17/digital-transformation-to-hit-the-energy-wall/#respondTue, 17 Apr 2018 20:26:50 +0000https://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=47534In my last blog post, I discussed the world’s ever-increasing need for energy and how to turn that challenge into an opportunity. Now, let’s explore how that shift will develop. ... Read more »

]]>In my last blog post, I discussed the world’s ever-increasing need for energy and how to turn that challenge into an opportunity. Now, let’s explore how that shift will develop.

We live in an ever-changing digital world – one that is engaged in deep revolutions. From new business models and new consumer technologies to new infrastructure, energy and power systems – digital transformation is ubiquitous.

Change does not come without hurdles. In fact, one of the today’s greatest challenges faced by company leaders is to simply “make digital work.” The topic of digital transformation and its challenges rise as the top concern on every C-suite survey feedbacks.

Yet, these surveys overlook a key aspect. With our world turning hyper-digital, its impact on the power system is dramatic. Also, these surveys fail to recognize traditional energy as the greatest barrier to successful digital transformation.

Digital transformation is leading toward an “always on” paradigm

As the digital economy develops, IT is pervading all sectors.

The development of the Internet of Things is taking digitization to a new level, transforming the way we interact with our environment, and the way business and manufacturing processes operate. IT is pervading homes, buildings, industrial plants, energy grids and transportation at a scale never before experienced.

With everything becoming a data center, requirements on energy availability are skyrocketing throughout all market segments, significantly transforming an outdated, century-old power system that’s simply not designed to meet such demands.

Energy availability has been a critical topic in IT systems for close to two decades. The industry of data centers has been looking at 100% computer room availability. The requirements for reliability of the energy system (alongside cooling) has traditionally been several orders of magnitude above that of other applications. Typically, the Uptime Institute tier topology standard has been designed for data centers to ensure the highest reliability through design and operations conditions. Nowhere else in the industry have trends gone that far.

For example, availability is at the business core of Pulse Data Centre in Queensland, which is Australia’s first Regional Uptime Tier III facility. To ensure reliable services for its corporate and enterprise customers, the new site will combine multiple solutions, from IT and power innovations to building management and security, all of which will enable precise planning and capacity allocation.

Digital transformation is leading to a massive “surge” for power

IT represents roughly 10% of the worldwide power consumption. Yet, its share in the mix keeps growing. Current forecasts expect it to double by 2030, or a growth of around 10% CAGR. By then, IT power consumption could reach three times its current levels.

But forecasts depend on the underlying assumptions, and they can be proven wrong. The truth is that the pace of development of IT is far exceeding those conservative rates.

Let’s have a look …

The number of connected devices is increasing at lightning speed. Various forecasts show staggering growth numbers between 15% and 50% CAGR, from 30 billion devices today to between 200 and 1,000 billion by 2030.

This leads to a significant increase of data production: Data has multiplied by six in the last five years, and forecasts consider potential growth of “business as a service” to be 30% year on year in the coming decade.

This volume of data production creates a significant impact on memory access, which represents around half of total energy consumed by computing. By 2030, the volume of data in memory could be multiplied by 100 to 10,000, depending on forecasts.

The consequence is that communication networks would need significant upgrades to maintain the same access to information – by an order of magnitude of 20 – while going mobile, which is much more energy-intensive than traditional fiber optics.

A concurrent forecast taking in account those parameters would lead us to think that IT systems will consume as much as the total forecasted power demand by 2030. That would mean global power consumption would quadruple, which is not exactly what forecasts currently depict. Is the world ready for that?

Of course, research is uncovering new ways to cope with these staggering figures, and efficiency will be reached in many aspects – in the way we compute, the way we access data, and the way devices consume energy. Nevertheless, most of the research is still in early stages.

]]>https://blog.schneider-electric.com/it-management/2018/04/17/digital-transformation-to-hit-the-energy-wall/feed/0Oxford University Gets Schooled on Energy Meteringhttps://blog.schneider-electric.com/power-management-metering-monitoring-power-quality/2018/02/14/oxford-university-gets-schooled-energy-metering/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/power-management-metering-monitoring-power-quality/2018/02/14/oxford-university-gets-schooled-energy-metering/#respondWed, 14 Feb 2018 14:00:58 +0000https://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=45401Today’s colleges and universities face tremendous operational challenges as they work to improve efficiency in buildings that can be decades, or centuries, old, and attempt to build new campus-wide networks... Read more »

]]>Today’s colleges and universities face tremendous operational challenges as they work to improve efficiency in buildings that can be decades, or centuries, old, and attempt to build new campus-wide networks to better understand and manage how all their facilities are using energy. With any given school operating multiple building types – from labs and dormitories to theaters and cafeterias – energy managers can easily be overwhelmed with the task of bringing energy costs under control.

The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey gives some idea of just how much electricity U.S. higher education campuses use in a year – a total of 134 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), according to the survey’s 2012 data. That figure equates to 17.4 kWh per square foot, which is significantly higher than any other educational facility type covered in the report.

Of course, monitoring and reducing campus energy use isn’t solely an issue in the United States. British and European universities can face even bigger hurdles, given the sheer age of their facilities. Certainly, a few U.S. schools might have signature buildings that date back 150 years or more, but these are rare exceptions, in most cases. On top of often being home to significantly older structures, British and European facilities often are committed to reducing their energy use far beyond U.S. higher-education performance targets.

The world-famous University of Oxford in Oxford, England, faced just this twofold challenge recently. As the oldest university in the English-speaking world, the university incorporates numerous buildings dating back to the early 17th Century. Further complicating energy-management efforts is the fact that its numerous colleges are scattered throughout the city of Oxford, so there’s no centralized campus. Even with these obstacles, the University in 2013 outlined a Carbon Management Plan to reduce its carbon footprint by 33 percent, versus levels of the 2005-2006 school year, by 2020.

Schneider Electric, which has a long-term relationship with the University, has become a partner in the effort to reach the ambitious 2020 target. The first step was improving access to information on real-time electricity use, which was accomplished by replacing existing analog meters with more than 1,000 digital meters – including more than 200 mains meters. Then energy managers were able to use Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Power Monitoring Expert software to collect and organize usage data. Now, the need for manual meter reading (formerly a two-day task undertaken five times per year) is a thing of the past, and departmental-billing efforts have been completely automated.

“The University has over 300 buildings, so having all of the important information at our fingertips means we know what’s going on anywhere, at any given time,” said David Baker, Electrical Engineer in the University’s Estates Services department. ‘I consider the system to be my ‘fifth engineer.’”

]]>https://blog.schneider-electric.com/power-management-metering-monitoring-power-quality/2018/02/14/oxford-university-gets-schooled-energy-metering/feed/0Schneider Electric Takes On the 2017 US Solar Decathlonhttps://blog.schneider-electric.com/life-at-schneider-electric/2017/12/22/schneider-electric-2017-solar-decathlon/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/life-at-schneider-electric/2017/12/22/schneider-electric-2017-solar-decathlon/#commentsFri, 22 Dec 2017 21:57:47 +0000https://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=44031Written by Guest Blogger, Kevin Connor. I don’t remember every detail of why I joined Schneider Electric in 2015. There were many reasons to join a global company right out... Read more »

I don’t remember every detail of why I joined Schneider Electric in 2015. There were many reasons to join a global company right out of college – job stability, growth opportunities, and the ability to work in a variety of job functions early on. But, one bullet point that stood out was the opportunity to have a role in the energy revolution.

With energy consumption rising by 50% and a need to cut CO2 emissions in half, we need to be 3 times more efficient.

This is how Schneider posited the challenge to me. It is a simple way to view a complex problem that is being dubbed a revolution (for good reason). Personally, I have a long history with sustainability. I focused on environmental studies in high school. I then viewed the challenge from an engineering perspective in college. This led me to believe it is possible to mix a successful career and a conscious mind about the environment. I don’t have to solve the problem, but I do have to be part of the solution.

Since being hired, I went through months of product training, managed commercial projects, and am now working as a residential sales engineer for the Chicago market. My current role has given me many opportunities, including the task of helping Northwestern University select the right products they’d need for their Solar Decathlon house.

Northwestern University’s house during construction

The Solar Decathlon is a Department of Energy sponsored collegiate competition to design and build a solar powered house. Motivated and brilliant college teams build these houses using the latest tech and efficient designs. Over the course of fifteen years and eight competitions, these houses have surpassed the initial goal of making solar homes viable. Contestants now build smart homes that conserve resources, use renewable energies, and incorporate beautifully livable designs. Every house has a unique feel and focus. The California drought led UC Davis to find new ways to decrease water consumption. Coming from a tornado-prone region led Team Alabama to design a house centered around a tornado-proof safe room. The list goes on…

Over the course of a few months, I worked with Northwestern University’s team to make sure they had the right solar, distribution, and smart home gear. I answered technical questions, added new products where possible, and made sure the gear arrived in time for testing. Schneider Electric donated products, and employees from each business unit offered their time and expertise to aid Northwestern in the design and bringing their systems online. For my contribution, it was a minor addition of time and knowledge to help a team reach a vision they had been working on for three years. As a result, I was satisfied upon install and believed my participation had ended.

Northwestern University’s completed house

I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email that the Schneider Electric Ambassador program was looking for individuals to attend the Solar Decathlon and volunteer at our sustainability booth. Given my knowledge on the competition, this was a no-brainer– I had to be there.

A few weeks later, I was in sunny Denver. I spent my time showcasing Schneider products, touring the competition houses, and speaking with the students to understand their visions. It was great to see everything come into place in the completed houses. Our new “Wiser Energy” smart home metering and monitoring system was a hit. Wiser was not only visible at our sustainability booth but also in NU’s house, where it gathered data and provided insights on their energy usage.

Throughout the event I met so many motivated students and volunteers, and was even able to Snapchat my experience on our social media account to share with those that could not attend. A fleet of local Schneider employees volunteered to help with event operations and another Schneider team designed and installed a microgrid for the venue. This microgrid managed distributed energy resources and interconnected energy loads for all the houses in the Solar Decathlon competition. It was refreshing to have deep conversations with enthusiasts and other members of the industry.

Join our Talent Community

In my position, I spend most of my time focusing on market share, price preservation, new products, and customer satisfaction. But it’s experiences like the Solar Decathlon that bring me back to why I joined Schneider Electric. Working for an ethical company that is taking on the world’s biggest challenges allows me to be part of the solution.

About the Author:

Kevin Connor graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in mechanical engineering and promptly joined Schneider Electric’s sales development program in Nashville. He has worked as a project manager and now as a sales engineer in the Chicago market. Kevin considers himself fortunate to act as a Schneider Electric Ambassador at recruiting and community events and play an active role in Chicago’s branch of the Emerging Professionals Network, a Business Resource Group within Schneider Electric.

]]>https://blog.schneider-electric.com/life-at-schneider-electric/2017/12/22/schneider-electric-2017-solar-decathlon/feed/1Plugging the Digital Drain on the Campus Data Centerhttps://blog.schneider-electric.com/education-research/2017/11/21/plugging-digital-drain-campus-data-center/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/education-research/2017/11/21/plugging-digital-drain-campus-data-center/#respondTue, 21 Nov 2017 16:00:59 +0000https://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=431332007 was the tipping point for smartphones and probably the last time bandwidth needs on college campuses were fairly predictable. Business requirements then meant supporting administrative offices. Learning mainly called... Read more »

]]>2007 was the tipping point for smartphones and probably the last time bandwidth needs on college campuses were fairly predictable. Business requirements then meant supporting administrative offices. Learning mainly called for connecting student and teacher computers. And on game day, people just watched the game. Today, IT pros are scrambling as unprecedented digital demand strains networks and overwhelms unprepared data centers.

Digital Drain

Things have really escalated in the last 5 years. I’ve heard a few IT pros from mid-sized colleges estimate a 900% increase in the number of connected devices they have to support.

Campus Technology reports that higher education IT leaders are also preparing for the use of robotic telepresence and artificial intelligence, and reimagining education via immersive learning through VR and AR. Some universities are setting up highly connected innovation labs to enable “experiential learning.”

These emerging, connected technologies will soon become standard and place even more strain on infrastructures. If a bit of latency doesn’t seem dire, think again. The digital capabilities of a higher education institution can impact enrollment.

Advice about choosing a college often includes “good computing infrastructure.” Research shows that the next generation of college students puts smartboards, digital textbooks, websites, online videos and game-based learning systems on top of their preferred digital learning tools list.

Then there’s storage to consider. The data center supports the housing of electronic records, online course materials and student assignments, not to mention facilitating data-intensive applications. Many institutions are looking to gain insights from the big data generated from all this connectivity, so throw the need for analytics into this mix.

Beyond education, students also expect connectivity after hours. In fact, campus IT is discovering that some of the highest demand comes late into the night when students are watching YouTube or streaming Netflix.

Beyond students, massive amounts of fans on game days are also connecting from multiple devices. Altogether, this means colleges and universities must provide a complete digital experience.

Plugging the Drain

Plugging the drain and creating a digital-ready higher education data center can start with simplifying all this complexity with a lifecycle approach. This method results in standardization, modernization and optimization which will, in turn, lower costs, mitigate risks and ensures all stakeholders remain untethered and online.

Depending on where you are in the lifecycle, you may want to consider implementing software to stay connected to the infrastructure, deploying integrated IT solutions and/or enabling remote data center control. In addition, edge solutions move compute power closer to the user.

This graphic will take your through the business case for connecting. Does that campus look familiar? More information about data center solutions for higher education can be found therein.

]]>https://blog.schneider-electric.com/education-research/2017/11/21/plugging-digital-drain-campus-data-center/feed/0K-12 School Districts Drive Innovation with New Technologieshttps://blog.schneider-electric.com/education-research/2017/09/27/k-12-school-districts-drive-innovation-with-new-technologies/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/education-research/2017/09/27/k-12-school-districts-drive-innovation-with-new-technologies/#respondWed, 27 Sep 2017 13:00:09 +0000http://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=41511When moving to a new state, city, or neighborhood, one of the most important decision making criterion for families is the quality of the local schools. Along with sound curriculum... Read more »

]]>When moving to a new state, city, or neighborhood, one of the most important decision making criterion for families is the quality of the local schools. Along with sound curriculum and high test scores, parents also want the best a 21st-century learning environment can offer. Today, those advancements are often based on a foundation of modern technology. And technology impacts nearly every facet of how a school district operates . . . from state-of-the-art classroom and athletic environments to highly efficient and sustainable smart campuses. These are the kinds of innovative solutions that build a school’s brand, as well as help it prepare for future growth.

Unfortunately, school districts across the country are struggling with how to prioritize the limited funds they receive. Often, facility modernization gets pushed to the wayside as school districts prioritize “must-haves” over “nice to haves”, resulting in a backlog of deferred maintenance. Administrators are left having to settle for short-term, “band-aid” fixes year after year, making buildings more expensive to operate and creating further budget strain.

What school districts might not know is that innovative technology solutions can be a triple win: enhancing the learning environment, improving facility operations and recovering budget dollars that can be reinvested.

Instead of a constant tug-of-war, imagine a scenario where schools could save money and make material improvements to facilities by streamlining energy and operational expenditures. Technology advancements such as lighting, HVAC, building and IT automation, and envelope improvements can often pay for themselves through savings, as well as be leveraged to unlock additional revenue to fund district priorities, including security and telecomm upgrades, or even more teachers in classrooms.

Watch these videos to see how two school districts are using technology to innovate their districts and build their brands as educational leaders.

Thomasville City Schools set a goal of implementing an energy efficiency program to inspire students and to provide best-in-class education, athletics and arts experiences to students of all ages. The district-wide modernization program touches nearly every aspect of the student experience; classrooms are brighter, gymnasiums are cooler, restrooms are more efficient and outdoor spaces are safer. It will also save the school district money — lots of it. In fact, these innovative solutions will trim more than $160,000 in annual energy expenses from the budget, totaling $4 million in savings over the life of the project.> Watch video on YouTube

Delran Township Schools is an award-winning district driven by a desire to reduce its environmental impact and improve its building operations. By implementing a district-wide sustainability plan using cutting-edge technology, Delran reduced energy costs by 32%, produces 80% of its electricity through on-site solar arrays. These improvements will save taxpayers $5.6 million over the next fifteen years. This project also educates students about conservation through hands-on learning and a digital kiosk that explains energy usage across the district. > Watch video on YouTube

Attract future students and grow your communities by promoting your district’s commitment to innovation and technology advancements. To see more success stories and learn how school districts nationwide are tackling capital improvement plans to build a more efficient and sustainable future, visit www.enable.schneider-electric.com.

]]>https://blog.schneider-electric.com/education-research/2017/09/27/k-12-school-districts-drive-innovation-with-new-technologies/feed/0Coast to coast K12 schools find funding to do more with lesshttps://blog.schneider-electric.com/building-management/2017/08/29/coast-coast-k12-schools-find-funding-less/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/building-management/2017/08/29/coast-coast-k12-schools-find-funding-less/#respondTue, 29 Aug 2017 15:00:54 +0000http://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=40377Across the country, many of America’s educators face similar problems: aging school buildings and a backlog of deferred maintenance, but little-to-no available funding to make the meaningful improvements necessary. Many... Read more »

]]>Across the country, many of America’s educators face similar problems: aging school buildings and a backlog of deferred maintenance, but little-to-no available funding to make the meaningful improvements necessary. Many facilities are 50 to 70 years old and serve an ever-growing student population. This compounds to more than just wear and tear, as issues can quickly become more expensive and complex with each passing year. In a worst-case scenario, building equipment fails unexpectedly, resulting in a reactive, costly emergency repair debacle.

Faced with a growing list of critical infrastructure needs, how can K12 school districts find the funding needed?

For a growing number of school leaders, the answer lies in innovative, technology-based solutions. Energy performance contracting allows school districts to dramatically reduce operating and utility costs, then reinvest those savings back into infrastructure and capital improvement projects. This also creates a proactive, not reactive, approach to such needs.

School buildings are renewed with the latest technologies including water conserving fixtures, interior and exterior LED lighting, major HVAC upgrades and new building automation systems, among many other innovative solutions. These improvements often generate such significant savings that districts can then tackle other priorities such as replacing old windows, dilapidated mechanical equipment and aging roofing.

Not only do these solutions bring school buildings into the 21st century, they also make classrooms much more comfortable for students and staff. Along with increased comfort comes a more conducive learning environment.

Here’s a look at some school districts on both coasts that have used this formula successfully. Click on the videos to learn more about each one.

California school district funds $12 million in improvements

This school district was stuck in a deferred maintenance trap that seemed impossible to escape. With over 22,000 students and 32 schools, making the sweeping improvements was going to be a big job. But thanks to its 5-year infrastructure plan and California’s Proposition 39, it was able to reinvest $12 million to tackle some of its most pressing needs without increasing local taxes. Additionally, the school district is now saving more than $800,000 a year that it can re-invest in classrooms. Watch the video.

This district was struggling with aging facilities that constantly needed patching just to stay operational. Studies have shown that air quality and classroom discomfort detract from student productivity. There just wasn’t enough money to tackle the big improvements officials knew were necessary. But an energy performance contract changed all that, generating $2.6 million in savings combined with a $500,000 grant from Department of Environmental Protection. In addition, a new energy purchasing consortium means the district can also achieve more buying power and secure better rates on energy, producing even greater savings that can be reallocated back into the schools. The district used those funds to address its top infrastructure goals. Watch the video.

What are your district’s infrastructure goals and how can Schneider Electric help you meet them? Get answers to those questions and learn more about how school districts nationwide are tackling capital improvement plans at www.enable.schneider-electric.com.

]]>To stay alive, human beings need air, food and water. If you are college student, add to this list of vital resources Internet access. That’s right, college students surveyed think the Internet is just as important as eating and drinking, and given a choice between a car (64 percent) and dating (40 percent), would choose connectivity.

This is just a microcosm of the next-gen expectations placed on the IT pros and their data centers at higher education institutions today, which also must serve faculty, researchers, operations and admin staff and sports fans across the campus and beyond. To do so they are turning to edge solutions.

Mobile Technology a Top Priority

A connected college experience for students begins with prospecting and goes on to processing. For example, a benchmarking industry report from Ruffalo Noel Levitz, shows that 77 percent of spring high school juniors and 82 percent of fall seniors use an institution’s website as their top planning resource. The majority of seniors (71 percent) and juniors (65 percent), complete enrollment-related forms on their mobile devices.

In terms of learning, according to survey from McGraw-Hill, four out of five college students find digital learning technology to be helpful in improving their grades, and more than two-thirds believe it helps them focus. Adaptive learning technology and online quizzes are seen to be the most impactful, with half of students who have used them reporting that they have a “major effect” on their grades.

Furthermore, 88 percent of college students report finding their smartphones helpful to their studies and 70 percent deem it “moderately important;” 22 percent feel it is “extremely important.”

Of course, professors are also heavily involved on the other side creating a wide-range of digital learning programs to meet the expectations of students. Additionally, researchers expect the latest capabilities in their labs, continuity is critical to campus safety and packed stadiums call for huge bandwidth.

How can IT support all these connectivity priorities and ensure the entire campus and beyond stays running?

Connected Campus on the Edge

Just like in the enterprise, universities and colleges are using a combination of conventional data centers, distributed environments and new edge solutions to create a next-gen architecture that meets next-gen learning and demand.

Typically, the core data center is still a separate facility run by centralized IT, and other facilities like dorms, libraries and labs will have their own wiring closets. These used to be a server and networking equipment, but now have to become mini data centers in their own right because of the demand for processing power and connectivity.

To that end, many higher education institutions face aging infrastructure and are in the process of modernization by adding more edge solutions. They must do so in order to effectively recruit (and keep) both students and academics.

Edge computing meets the high demands of the connected campus today by bringing bandwidth-intensive content and latency-sensitive applications closer to the user or data source.

There are three types of edge computing including local devices, localized data centers and regional data centers. To find out which one is right for your institution, read our free white paper, “The Drivers and Benefits of Edge Computing,”

]]>https://blog.schneider-electric.com/datacenter/2017/05/31/connected-campus-meeting-students-no-1-priority-edge-solutions/feed/0The Innovation Game in Which Industry Scores Big: Part 1https://blog.schneider-electric.com/oil-and-gas/2017/03/03/innovation-game-industry-scores-big-part-1/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/oil-and-gas/2017/03/03/innovation-game-industry-scores-big-part-1/#respondFri, 03 Mar 2017 19:52:08 +0000http://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=35611Part 1: Broadening the playing field I love innovation. Like most of my engineering peers, I discovered the joy of technology as a child who developed a passion for electronics... Read more »

I love innovation. Like most of my engineering peers, I discovered the joy of technology as a child who developed a passion for electronics in second grade. I easily could see the journey ahead, leading me through many inquisitive years at the Don Bosco School in Calcutta, India, to become a Jagadis Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS) Fellow. From there, my journey took me through the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for my undergraduate and University of Illinois for graduate school. After over 20 years in rewarding academic posts and 10 years of work in the corporate world, I ultimately came to Schneider Electric. Here, I lead a global R&D organization with over 8,000 team members, five R&D hubs, and a €1.25 billion annual investment.

Today, that fascinating spark of innovation is just as strong as it was decades ago when I entered this magical world of making things that have impact and relevance. For we are on an exciting innovation journey as the global specialist in energy management and automation. Most recently, our latest IoT-ready EcoStruxure architecture is the crowning achievement of Innovation At Every Level across our four key business markets: building, industry, data center, and grid.

Listening to our customers

But EcoStruxure didn’t just happen in a Schneider Electric vacuum. True, our core R&D continues to build on Schneider’s expertise in circuit breakers, UPS, automation and control, and more. But it took a major shift in our R&D thinking and approach to bring to fruition our EcoStruxure architecture and technology platform as a tested and validated, holistic, interoperable system of connected products; edge control technology; and apps, analytics, and services. In short, we had to embrace what was happening outside us and be open to new ideas.

We no longer could take a “waterfall” approach to R&D: “If they build it, they will come.” Instead, by bolstering accountability for projects and proactively gaining meaningful customer insights, we vastly improved our R&D footprint and competencies. It’s simple: the world had gone digital, and our R&D efforts had to respond accordingly.

In the past our products were 100% hardware. Increasingly, our products have a ratio of hardware and software similar to that of a Tesla car (i.e., 60% hardware, 40% software), so we can borrow concepts from software R&D into our product and solutions R&D. Now, we are using lean and agile approaches in our product and solutions R&D. First we initially build a minimal viable product and test it with customers in key markets. Then we develop future versions by doing software upgrades in the field; these upgrades are based on extensive customer feedback and intimacy. This approach is similar to the way Tesla does software upgrades to its cars. The result? Speed and agility.

Discovering innovative treasures

Through open innovation, we partner with a research ecosystem of startups, universities, partners, suppliers, and even customers; we welcome others to our innovation sandbox, so to speak. Before starting any new R&D project, we ask the question: “Is there any startup anywhere is the world that has developed a related product or technology, and will we be able to partner with that startup to bring our solutions faster to market for our customers?” It is not about the “Not-Invented-Here” (NIH) syndrome. The technologies developed by startups are like individual pearls. As such, our approach to creating new products or solutions is like stringing together a necklace for our customers.

Creating pearls takes time, so when they do form, you know you have found a treasure. Likewise, when you look up from watching grains of sand slip through your fingers in a four-walled sandbox, you gain speed, perspective, inspiration, and agility. What did we discover? A broader, expansive innovation playing field that facilitates the capabilities customers need to compete. For Oil & Gas, this means speed and responsiveness, durability and endurance, and visibility and strategy. Intelligence sits on top of all of these. For example, we’re partnering with the startup Virsec to provide integrated cyber security in our Wonderware platform.

We also are exploring the use of co-R&D with some of our system integrator partners such as Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, Accenture, and Capgemini. For example, we work with Cognizant for co-R&D in the Oil & Gas space. Using this approach, we have half a dozen engineers from Schneider working closely together with half a dozen engineers from a partner on an exciting new R&D problem using lean and agile methods. We call this approach INNOVATING FASTER, CHEAPER, AND BETTER.

Now that I think about it, this innovation playing field is not unlike soccer – a sport I loved growing up and continue to enjoy from time to time. In my next post, we’ll take a quick tour of industry’s innovation playing field to see what I mean …

]]>https://blog.schneider-electric.com/oil-and-gas/2017/03/03/innovation-game-industry-scores-big-part-1/feed/0Learning Across Industries: 5 Vertical Looks at Data Centershttps://blog.schneider-electric.com/datacenter/2017/02/22/learning-across-industries-vertical-data-centers/
https://blog.schneider-electric.com/datacenter/2017/02/22/learning-across-industries-vertical-data-centers/#respondWed, 22 Feb 2017 14:30:42 +0000http://blog.schneider-electric.com/?p=35273While the overall goal of any data center is meeting the needs of business through continuous uptime, there are often vertical-specific requirements. Still, the opportunity for cross-industry learnings are significant... Read more »

]]>While the overall goal of any data center is meeting the needs of business through continuous uptime, there are often vertical-specific requirements. Still, the opportunity for cross-industry learnings are significant as are those from the private to public sector and vice versa.

To that end, we’ve gathered five vertical specific blogs that might help boost best practices and bring new ideas to your facility.

The market forces and series of cascading system failures of the 2008 financial crisis created a perfect storm in the financial services industry. Now, a decade after the storm, banks and other financial institutions are still trying to wade through the aftermath. New challenges that have arisen as a consequence call for new approaches to managing data centers.

When you are among the top-ranked clinical and medical research centers in the United States, your mission is critical and so are your data centers. You need to rely on the latest technology for consistent uptime and to protect and process critical data.

Rapid changes in consumer technology have also created a new speed of retail. Technology upgrades for new payment options and tracking inventory are just two examples of deployments needed to ensure the highest level of customer engagement and satisfaction. How can retailers keep up with technology upgrades and keep it simple?

Forty-two percent of college students use two or more mobile devices during a typical school day. For those who use three or more devices — such as a smartphone, tablet and laptop — 61% say they want to use mobile technology even more. Universities that want to keep their halls of learning full must be sure their data centers are ready to meet these connectivity demands.

Bringing industry and the Federal government together, Schneider Electric’s recent Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) Summit focused on tackling optimization and efficiency goals for government data centers. In doing so, not only will agencies free themselves to better focus on their core missions, they also stand to better serve the taxpayers.